I think this letter from the independant yesterday says it best: " I suspect it may well be true that a disproportionate amount of violent crime is committed by young black men, so Rod Liddle may be wondering why he is being accused of racism when he is simply reporting what is true. The racism, of course, lies in selecting and highlighting this variable ahead of all the other variables which apply to those engaged in crime of this sort. For example, they tend to be male and grossly under-educated; their fathers are generally absent or involved in violence; they are no longer involved in organised sport, or religion. They have none of the skills necessary these days to get legitimate employment, which means they are more likely to derive feelings of belonging and security from gang membership; they are almost certainly not involved in any conventional creative or artistic activity; and, perhaps, most important of all, they will have internalised the market's message that, since you are what you own, you should go out and get it and not let anyone stand in your way. If Liddle were able to think just a little more divergently, he would realise that the serious problem of violent crime has much more to do with gender, class, education and the pernicious effects of the market than with ethnicity. It is a symptom of political, cultural and moral malaise ? just like our fascination for simplistic sound-bites."